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What does a high school teacher do?

Updated January 8, 2025
7 min read
Quoted expert
Dr. Diana Jones
What does a high school teacher do

High school teachers play an essential role in preparing students for college or life following graduation. They typically teach students from the ninth to 12th grades. They plan and develop lessons, evaluate their students' strengths, weaknesses and abilities, and grade their exams and assignments. Other duties include working with individual students to challenge and improve their abilities, developing and implementing classroom rules, and overseeing students outside the classroom. Some of them also take on additional tasks, such as advising academic clubs or coaching sports teams.

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High school teacher responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real high school teacher resumes:

  • Coordinate training for the after-school soccer league, manage game schedules and transportation for the school team
  • Plan English conversation and writing classes, grade assignments, design and lead an English summer camp course for freshmen.
  • Manage FBLA, assist with meeting notes, financial records, and agendas for meetings, events, and fundraisers.
  • Coordinate and conduct LPAC meetings, ESL testing, and state testing.
  • Create and implement district-wide general math, pre-algebra, and science curriculum.
  • Facilitate and teach online students in California and Colorado: English, history; economics
  • Used children's literature to teach and reinforce reading, writing, grammar and phonics.
  • Plan class curriculum and teach accounting, marketing, economics, and data processing classes.
  • Help ESL high school students with their homework and school projects resulting in passing grades.
  • Conduct a PowerPoint presentation at the end of the school year on the sage cleansing products.
  • Prepare and deliver daily, data driven lessons in algebra and geometry to students who are below level.
  • Design and implementation of a yearly syllabus, lesson plans, resources, and evaluations for the following courses :.
  • Communicate with teacher about student progress/problems assist with graduation records, copies and file all CAHSEE, pre-g and GED results.
  • Modele standard and nonstandard grammar comparatively for practical exercises.
  • Monitor and evaluate student progress and document achievements of IEP.

High school teacher skills and personality traits

We calculated that 12% of High School Teachers are proficient in Classroom Management, Professional Development, and Culinary.

We break down the percentage of High School Teachers that have these skills listed on their resume here:

  • Classroom Management, 12%

    Assisted in implementing School-wide Positive Behavior Support and effective classroom management strategies including Functional Assessment of Behavior and Behavioral Intervention Plans.

  • Professional Development, 7%

    Organized and executed professional developments for staff and administration resulting in schools building capacity and knowledge communities within.

  • Culinary, 5%

    Organized a Cinco de Mayo celebration which included cultural immersion and culinary activities.

  • K-12, 5%

    Lead instructional teams and leadership in strategic planning an implementation of emergent technology into high school coursework and K-12 instructional.

  • Curriculum Development, 5%

    Participate in staff development activities and staff meetings, curriculum development activities as required or assigned.

  • Student Learning, 5%

    Applied school-wide branding, budget and fiscal responsibilities, and change management innovation that increased parent/student learning satisfaction.

"classroom management," "professional development," and "culinary" are among the most common skills that high school teachers use at work. You can find even more high school teacher responsibilities below, including:

Communication skills. The most essential soft skill for a high school teacher to carry out their responsibilities is communication skills. This skill is important for the role because "teachers must share ideas with their students, other teachers, and school administrators and staff." Additionally, a high school teacher resume shows how their duties depend on communication skills: "used effective written and verbal communication skills to instruct high school students in learning the spanish language and about spanish culture. "

Most common high school teacher skills

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Compare different high school teachers

High school teacher vs. Teacher and coach

A teacher/tutor is primarily in charge of facilitating discussions and other learning activities for students. Their duties typically revolve around developing lesson plans and teaching materials, assessing the progress of students through quizzes and examinations, assisting students in areas they find difficult, and helping them develop their interpersonal and intrapersonal skills. Furthermore, as a teacher/tutor, it is essential to monitor the progress and behavior of students, all while maintaining a healthy and safe learning environment for them.

The annual salary of teacher and coaches is $4,028 lower than the average salary of high school teachers.Even though high school teachers and teacher and coaches are distinct careers, a few of the skills required for both jobs are similar. For example, both careers require classroom management, professional development, and k-12 in the day-to-day roles and responsibilities.

These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a high school teacher are more likely to require skills like "culinary," "curriculum development," "learning environment," and "mathematics." On the other hand, a job as a teacher and coach requires skills like "girls basketball," "varsity football," "student athletes," and "softball." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.

Teacher and coaches tend to make the most money working in the education industry, where they earn an average salary of $48,513. In contrast, high school teachers make the biggest average salary, $51,028, in the professional industry.teacher and coaches tend to reach similar levels of education than high school teachers. In fact, teacher and coaches are 1.7% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.6% less likely to have a Doctoral Degree.

High school teacher vs. Teacher/tutor

Language teachers primarily impart knowledge on multidimensional language through classes and activities. The teachers create conditions and develop activities allowing students to practice what they learned with significance. They immerse students in situational learning roles to write, read, converse, and learn different languages. Also, they are considered instrumental in establishing a supportive and positive learning environment. The teachers are also expected to be communicative and well-versed in the language/s they are teaching to their students.

A career as a teacher/tutor brings a lower average salary when compared to the average annual salary of a high school teacher. In fact, teacher/tutors salary is $9,486 lower than the salary of high school teachers per year.While the salary may differ for these jobs, they share a few skills needed to perform their duties. Based on resume data, both high school teachers and teacher/tutors have skills such as "classroom management," "professional development," and "k-12. "

In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, high school teacher responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "culinary," "curriculum development," "student achievement," and "learning process." Meanwhile, a teacher/tutor has duties that require skills in areas such as "kids," "study," "develop rapport," and "language." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.

On average, teacher/tutors earn a lower salary than high school teachers. Some industries support higher salaries in each profession. Interestingly enough, teacher/tutors earn the most pay in the education industry with an average salary of $43,459. Whereas high school teachers have higher pay in the professional industry, with an average salary of $51,028.In general, teacher/tutors achieve similar levels of education than high school teachers. They're 1.9% less likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.6% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for high school teachers in the next 3-5 years?

Dr. Diana JonesDr. Diana Jones LinkedIn profile

Chair, Department of Kinesiology, Anderson University

Technology in the next 3-5 years -- That is a tough question because technology is continually changing. However, I would say whatever learning system their school provides (e.g., Canvas, Blackboard, etc.), they should get to know. Also, the technology that involves making/editing videos of teaching would be necessary. The technique that includes exercise, fitness, sports such as heart rate monitors, Fitbits, etc. Finally, a technology that allows interactions between teachers and students and students and students.

High school teacher vs. Language teacher

A student-teacher is responsible for assisting their supervising instructors in maintaining the class orderliness during lectures and class activities. Student teachers' duties include helping with lesson plans, organizing learning activities, managing student behaviors, observing classroom procedures, preparing visual materials and other educational equipment, providing feedback for students, and keeping students' records for evaluation. A student-teacher must maintain excellent communication and decision-making skills to set goals and make consistent progress to the class while keeping students engaged.

On average scale, language teachers bring in lower salaries than high school teachers. In fact, they earn a $1,028 lower salary per year.Using the responsibilities included on high school teachers and language teachers resumes, we found that both professions have similar skill requirements, such as "classroom management," "professional development," and "k-12.rdquo;

Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from high school teacher resumes include skills like "culinary," "math," "student achievement," and "chemistry," whereas a language teacher is more likely to list skills in "mandarin," "grammar," "language curriculum," and "foreign language. "

Language teachers earn the highest salary when working in the education industry, where they receive an average salary of $50,678. Comparatively, high school teachers have the highest earning potential in the professional industry, with an average salary of $51,028.Most language teachers achieve a similar degree level compared to high school teachers. For example, they're 2.9% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.5% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

High school teacher vs. Student teacher

Student teachers tend to earn a higher pay than high school teachers by an average of $6,594 per year.According to resumes from high school teachers and student teachers, some of the skills necessary to complete the responsibilities of each role are similar. These skills include "classroom management," "professional development," and "student learning. "

Even though a few skill sets overlap between high school teachers and student teachers, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a high school teacher might have more use for skills like "culinary," "k-12," "curriculum development," and "mathematics." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of student teachers require skills like "kindergarten," "bulletin boards," "parent-teacher conferences," and "student teaching. "

In general, student teachers earn the most working in the education industry, with an average salary of $54,049. The highest-paying industry for a high school teacher is the professional industry.The average resume of student teachers showed that they earn lower levels of education compared to high school teachers. So much so that theyacirc;euro;trade;re 6.2% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree by 1.2%.

Types of high school teacher

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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